Optimal cytokine stimulation for the enhanced generation of leukemic dendritic cells in short-term culture

Dendritic cells (DCs) are professional antigen presenting cells derived from myeloid or lymphoid precursors. Functional DCs have been generated from the malignant counterpart of these precursor cells. Herein, we describe the generation of DCs from different leukemias and determine the optimal culture conditions with minimal manipulation. Primary leukemic cells were cultured for 1, 3, and 5 days in 11 different cytokine combinations and analyzed for the expression of a mature DC phenotype. Optimal growth and DC characteristics were obtained with GM-CSF, FL, and SCF in 3-5 day cultures, suggesting a practical strategy for the immunotherapy of leukemia.